


Champagne and Sunshine

by delighted



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Coda, Episode Related, M/M, Missing Scene, S8E9
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-10 13:44:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13502744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delighted/pseuds/delighted
Summary: Danny decides to go for it and finally tell Steve how he feels. When Steve stops him, Danny realizes Steve needs to be the one to say it. Only question is... what will it take for Steve to admit it?





	Champagne and Sunshine

**Author's Note:**

> This is technically Danny’s POV on [“Your Move”](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13332168) but you really do _not_ have to have read that to read this. You could. But you don’t need to.
> 
> So there had been a comment on “Your Move” asking for Danny’s POV on the story, and I always at least _think_ about what I might do, when I get asked for more.... Well, so I got thinking about what Danny’d been thinking with the whole champagne and sitting in the sun thing, and before I knew it, I was in love with the idea, and this happened. (I’m not really sure it’s quite what koertell had in mind, but I hope you like it anyway.....)

He’d thought about it. Probably fifteen times in eight years? Maybe more. What he’d say, if it really was the end. Of course he assumed that Steve would be there if it was the end. (And really, what did that say?) He’d come up with several things. None of which had ever felt right. And usually, when they found themselves in the actual situation and one of them tried to say something, the other invariably shut him up. It was just easier to focus on that last ditch effort and simply ignore “what if” until there was no if.

This time was different. And Danny wasn’t really sure why, except this time there was quite simply nothing any of them could do. Nothing _Steve_ could do. Danny was sure that hadn’t ever been the case before, and it sure felt completely different, and maybe that’s what did it, that’s what the difference was. When Steve was still trying, there was still hope—Danny had seen him enact miracle after miracle, after all. But this time, Steve wasn’t still trying. In fact, Danny was pretty sure Steve thought this was the end too. Despite his attempts to say otherwise.

Maybe that’s what pushed Danny to do it. It certainly didn’t feel like something he would... ordinarily do. Ordinarily? Trapped on a boat, dying of some biologically engineered death virus. Yeah, because that’s something that happened often.

At least he still had his snark. Although that was fading fast.

Maybe _that_ was the thought that drove him to the drink. He’d have preferred whiskey, to be honest. But champagne was somehow all the more fitting. And that stupid, stupid Hawaiian sunshine, that he still pretended irritated him—though it didn’t, really. And what did it say that he felt anxious about not feeling that warmth again?

But really, it was the loss of another warmth he was more upset about. One he’d never even had.

He played a few lines through his head... of how he’d tell Steve. For one mad moment he thought about just walking up to him and kissing him. But if Steve pulled back, if Steve sputtered, if Steve pushed him away... he knew it would kill him on the spot, and he really didn’t want that to be the way he went out.

So, words. More his comfort territory anyway. Problem was, he couldn’t think of any he liked.

Once, ages ago, he’d had a bit too much champagne after a case and wound up nearly telling Steve how he felt, so it seemed a fitting choice, to drink champagne and tell Steve that “Oh by the way, as we’re about to die anyway, I’ve kind of been in love with you for ohhh, seven or eight years or so?”

He found the champagne, and a deck chair. But he couldn’t quite find the courage to find Steve. Stupid, really. Only a few hours left to live, and worrying about being courageous enough to tell your best friend you’re in love with him. Thing is, Danny’s always been a bit of a coward. When it comes to stuff like this, anyway. He was pretty sure he’d rather land an airplane on a beach (and by “land,” he means _crash_ ) than actually go through with this. But there’s something about having a ticking clock staring you in the face... and not having anything else to do.

He told himself he’d find that one moment when he’d had enough to loosen his tongue, but was still able to walk. He’d sit there and drink _just_ enough champagne. And then go find Steve.

Of course, just as he was about at that point, who showed up? Figures. Steve always did find a way to ruin everything. Still, Danny’d got enough in him to decide to try and find a way to say _something_.

.... _And_ Steve shut him down. Of course. Dammit.

So Danny made up something about the restaurant and a ridiculous idea about a waiting room, like it’s some kind of doctor’s office or something stupid. He felt like an idiot. But he also felt his heart... _not_ _break_. It was, more something... Hmm. The thing is. He was pretty sure that Steve _knew_ what he was going to say. He was also pretty sure that Steve had been wanting him to say something. _Waiting_ for him to say something. And maybe even getting a little impatient for him to say something. So why, when they’re probably about to die, and Danny’d finally worked up the courage to blurt some kind of love confession out... why did Steve shut him down?

And Danny wasn’t really sure, but this warm curl of something started deep within his chest when that happened. And it was partly some sort of “Well, this can’t be the end, then, because if it was Steve would have said something,” and partly an almost sharper spark of “Steve’s realized _he_ needs to be the one to say it, wants to be the one to say it.” And Danny wasn’t entirely certain that made sense, and yet, somehow it did. He just didn’t quite see how yet. Maybe because Danny’d finally got there? Was finally going to say it? And now Steve needed to find _his_ version of that?

Maybe....

At any rate, it gave him hope, it bolstered him in some really strange new way, and maybe it was some weird side effect of the virus or something, or maybe it was the effect of the sunshine and champagne. But he felt more hopeful than he had in a really long time.

Danny’d passed out by the time Steve gave him the shot of antidote, but he fluttered briefly awake after, and maybe he was seeing what he wanted to, but he was pretty sure he saw some new resolve in those blurry hazel eyes. Some shift, a spark of new potential, the hint of a promise.

It might have made him hyper aware of Steve during their time in quarantine. And one thing he couldn’t help but notice was that Steve was spending a lot of time with Tani, which amused Danny to no end. She’d asked Danny, on pretty much her first day, how long he and Steve had been together. And she hadn’t meant as partners. He’d blushed and stammered, and she’d dropped it with a harshly muttered phrase about men being oblivious, but he’d always wondered what, if anything, she’d said to Steve.

And now he was pretty sure that he knew. Because she was clearly goading him on. The fact that it seemed like Steve was actually listening to her added a bounce to Danny’s step he wouldn’t have anticipated having whilst living in such forced proximity to anyone.

To be completely honest, though, Danny was kind of loving the forced proximity. He tried to tell himself it wasn’t just because he was pretty sure he was watching Steve kind of have a nervous complex. But it might have been. He thought he caught Steve and Tani saying things just before he walked in the room, stopping suddenly when he walked in, Steve often almost flinching... as if Tani was kicking him under the table or something. And his bed was the one right next to Steve’s (he’d claimed the one against the wall first, so that’d been all Steve’s choice, just... pointing that out), and he was pretty sure Steve was developing a habit of watching him in his sleep.

Then there was that one, wonderful, pulse-racing time Tani said to Steve “Can you please just make your move?” while they were pretending to play chess. And Danny could practically feel the heat coming off Steve as he stumbled to recover.

So, yeah, Danny kind of had fun in quarantine. But then, it was over, and back to normal life, and still Steve hadn’t made his “move.” Which really didn’t surprise Danny all that much. Because Steve _would_ be like that... slow to build up to it, and then he’d probably blurt it out suddenly and all at once, when the pressure was pent up enough. It also occurred to Danny that maybe Steve needed the familiarity of their usual routine to get to it, comfortably, in his own way. Maybe something that tugged at Steve’s sentimental side would be a good way to break through his natural reticence to talking about feelings.

With that in mind, Danny might have arranged a few things he thought might help. Surfing seemed like a plausible prompt—they often got very physical with each other after they’d been on the waves. Watching a romantic movie also had potential, as Steve tended to get far softer and more cuddly than he would have appreciated Danny recognizing. Even having him over to cook while both kids were there seemed hopeful. Danny’d long known his kids were a huge weak spot for Steve, and maybe it was bad that he was totally willing to use that, but he was starting to get a little impatient. Through it all, Steve stayed resolutely silent about his feelings for Danny, even as he clearly was admiring Danny’s bare chest while they surfed (even more than usual), even when they practically cuddled during the movie, and even when it actually felt like they were a family while grilling and watching the kids play.

Danny was beginning to think he was going to have to do something less subtle, but each time he came close to doing or saying something, he just knew that if he did Steve would shut even further down and the whole thing would freaking reset and they’d be back to square one. So he said nothing. And waited. Meanwhile his internal tension level was building to its own kind of bursting point. He really hoped Steve got to _his_ before he did because this was getting ridiculous. He’d begun basically running a silent background program in his mind constantly, supplying helpful insert comments like “Oh, this could be a nice time to say you love me,” or “You could pull over here and just kiss me....” He was pretty sure he was slowly going insane.

And then one day, when Danny’d begun to give up hope, they were out on a case, ready to break into a fucking bomb factory. Steve was about to kick in the door, when he stopped and turned to Danny, the look on his face something Danny’d never seen before. His heart nearly fell to the ground. Surely. Surely... not _now_ , Steven. Really? They’d spent all day chasing some lunatic around the island, they’d finally found the place some imbeciles had decided was a good place to make highly unstable explosives.... And this, _this_ is what was going to finally push Steve over the edge?

Actually, yeah. That made sense. Geez. What was Danny’s life? Mad men and things blowing up.

“Danny. I need to tell you something.”

Danny’s heart was racing. It’d already been racing, but now it was going like crazy. He turned to look anywhere but at Steve, to try and calm himself down. To make him somehow put this conversation off for just like ten minutes. Seriously. “Okay, babe, let’s get this done and then you can.”

But Steve tugged on Danny, whispering intently and far too heatedly. “No, I mean, I need to tell you right now.”

Really _really_ not an okay time to be getting turned on here. “Okay, but hurry up, babe,” Danny took a step back to try and regain some semblance of control. “That thing could blow at any moment.” Okay, that had been the wrong thought. Shit.

“I think we should get married.”

And. That.... _What_? His pulse calmed, instantly. So did everything else. Because, well, _shock_. And yet....

He hoped he looked stunned rather than turned on. “Please tell me you are kidding me right now. We’re about to break down a door to a warehouse that’s probably rigged to explode, and you pick now to propose to me?”

“Just...” Steve was looking around them almost as if he’d suddenly realized they were in a rather precarious situation. “If we make it through this, promise me you’ll think about it.”

Okay, that was something Danny recognized. Fear of possible death eliciting a confession. He moved closer to Steve, right almost up against his body, and put a hand out to Steve’s chest. He hadn’t been worried about the raid, not that worried. But he was beginning to get a little afraid. “Now you’re freaking me out.”

“Please?”

It was quiet, and pleading. Insistent. And it seemed to Danny that there was some deep truth here, some need Steve hadn’t even been aware of... until it had spilled out of him, almost against his will. Danny understood that as well. His heart turned over with a kind of _this was in some sense inevitable_.

“Yes, alright. _Jesus_. Yes.” He was a little surprised to realize he meant it.

Steve, it seemed to Danny, was half way between giddy and terrified. “Yes, what? You’ll think about it? Or yes, _yes_.”

Danny was getting a little anxious to get on with the case, but also beginning to feel totally overwhelmed by the weight of Steve’s outburst. He might have been waving his gun a bit too carelessly in his heightened state. Possibly he would have agreed to anything Steve asked in that moment. “I don’t know! _Yes_ yes.” It didn’t feel like he was just agreeing with Steve to get on with things, though. He tried to dismiss the thought as not a priority at the moment. Kind of failed.

Steve had clearly been about to grab Danny’s gun, but he stopped short, standing up straighter, his energy somehow focusing itself more in his body at Danny’s response. “Really?”

“Steven, now is _really not_ the time for this conversation.” And he really did mean that. Because kissing really needed to be happening and that was just not.... Just no, not on the literal doorstep of a fucking bomb factory. He had to draw lines _somewhere_.

“But you’d marry me?” Steve was grinning like a mad fool. Which is because he was. But so was Danny.

Danny managed to not roll his eyes, managed to not say “I’ve been waiting for you to say something for almost a month now.” Managed to not kiss him. He had no idea how he managed all of those things. But he did.

“Yes, you idiot. Of course I would. Can we _please_ finish this now?”

“Okay,” Steve somehow, incredibly, turned serious, swung around to face the door. Almost as an afterthought, he looked back over his shoulder, a lustful look that made Danny blush, he whispered: “But then I am going to kiss you.”

“I should hope so. Now please, let’s _go_.” He shivered, but Steve was through the door and Danny slid seamlessly into his op mode, much to his own surprise.

It didn’t surprise Danny at all when one of the bombs that was only partially assembled detonated, the explosion messy but not destructive, and he had to hold himself back from laughing because that kind of summed up how he was feeling about his life in general at the moment.

When everyone was apprehended, and the team gathered outside, dusting themselves off from the bits of building that coated them, Danny’s ears still ringing, he saw, from the corner of his eye, Steve’s approach. It was like a scene in an action movie. Steve looked fucking resplendent, striding powerfully across the dirt parking lot toward Danny, his intent written so clearly not just on his face but across his whole body. Danny was pretty sure he could feel Tani, Lou, and Junior staring, knowing what was coming just as clearly as Danny did.

Steve’s hands gripped so roughly onto Danny’s arms it hurt, and with a look so fierce it shocked the breath out of him, Steve pulled him into a crushing kiss.

He was vaguely aware of sounds and mutterings from the team, but he didn’t have a moment to look in their direction because finally, finally, Steve was against his body in a way he’d only imagined, and it was so so much better he didn’t want to ever let go. He kissed back like he’d never kissed anyone, and granted he’d never kissed anyone while on the post-case, post-explosion high he was on right now, but that was only part of it. He felt like he was spinning, like they were both spinning, swirling, everything focusing on their bodies, their kiss, nothing else in focus, nothing else mattering.

Maybe it was the lack of oxygen, maybe it was his hearing starting to come back, maybe it was something like the calm in the eye of the storm, but Danny suddenly needed to look into Steve’s eyes, needed to see what was happening there... needed to know this was _real_.

Considering Steve had just been behaving like the hero in a romcom, he looked stunning abashed when Danny met his eyes. “Hey,” he muttered, unsure, suddenly, of everything.

It warmed Danny’s heart in a strange but welcome way. He’d have to push Steve a bit now, he realized. But he also felt certain that they were, in some sense, in the clear... it would be hard to go backwards from the spectacle they’d just made. It made Danny positively glow. He felt a little like he’d been left out in the sunshine for too long. Maybe after drinking some champagne. His head felt fizzy.

“Hi,” he replied, thinking he sounded a bit dozy and dreamy. Maybe it was the effect of that kiss. That wonderful kiss.... “So. What was that all about, babe, huh?”

He wasn’t the only one reeling a bit. Steve didn’t seem to know what to say, didn’t seem quite aware of which end was up. He stammered a bit, and Danny realized they both needed to sit down, so he led them to the truck to sit on the tailgate. He didn’t let his hand leave Steve’s arm, partly to keep himself grounded in the reality of what had happened, partly to get Steve focused.  

“Come on, babe. What’s going on?”

Steve took a bit of a shuddering breath, then turned towards Danny and launched himself directly into it. “I stopped you from telling me. On the boat.”

Danny was glad at least that Steve would acknowledge that. He smiled softly. “Yeah, you did.”

“I’m sorry.”

He wanted to shake his head, wanted to say “Don’t be.” He shrugged. “What would we have done, babe? Made the most of our dying breaths? We were too sick to do anything. I was just tired of ignoring it, I think. It takes so much energy to constantly pretend I don’t feel the way I do.”

Steve bit his lips together. “We’re getting old, huh?”

Sure felt like it, especially lately. Maybe that was part of it, though. Maybe that was what they’d needed.... “Yeah, we are, babe.”

“Is that why you agreed to it? Or were you just placating me before I did something stupid?”

He moved closer, needed above all else for Steve to know this in no uncertain terms. “Babe. I wasn’t placating you. And I wasn’t giving in because I’m tired.”

“I’ve had this thing...” Steve licked his lips like he was nervous to admit something. But he pushed forward. “I never wanted to be the one to say anything, because I never wanted you to be able to blame me for us getting together... if things went wrong.” He sighed. “I didn’t want you to say I bullied you into it. But that’s basically what I did.”

It made so much sense. Danny almost hated himself for having put that on Steve. Not intentionally of course, but he should have realized that was what had been going on, what he’d put out there, with all his talk over the years of his issues, his relationship woes. He let his hand fall off Steve’s arm, wanted to scold himself for having done that. He brought himself out of his regret with a brisk rub of his hands over his face, trying to focus on _now_ rather than the regret. And not wanting Steve to blame himself either. Not for this.

“Babe, that _isn’t_ what you did. Look, we’re old, we’re tired, we’ve been through hell more than once. And we’ve both been idiots about how we feel about each other.” Realizing he needed the contact with Steve again, he grabbed for Steve’s hand with both of his and squeezed it hard. “I don’t think that us getting together was ever going to be something that would go smoothly. That just wouldn’t be _us_.”

Steve laughed, a broken, half-laugh.

Danny needed to move this to the realm of the practical. Action. There’d been too much thinking, too much waiting, too much _not doing_. Time to change that. “Look. It doesn’t matter how it happened, what matters is what we do now.”

Nodding, looking grateful for that shift, Steve moved closer to Danny. He tightened both of his hands around Danny’s and put them down on his leg, like it was some kind of symbolic gesture towards action. “Okay. Tell me. What do we do?”

“Well, I think some dating is probably a better first step than a wedding....” He couldn’t help but smile.

“Yeah. Sorry about that,” Steve almost blushed, but he also looked a bit puzzled. “It... it wasn’t what I had planned to say. It just kind of came out. I’m not sure why.”

Danny wanted to push him, wanted to say “Really? You don’t? Because I’m pretty sure I do....”

Instead he settled for: “Well, it was probably the craziest proposal ever, but actually surprisingly fitting for you.” Which was absolutely true. Stunningly perfect, actually.

That seemed to please Steve. “Yeah. Somehow it did seem... kind of perfect.”

“I don’t need it, though, you know. It’s not what really matters to me.” He knew Steve understood that, knew Danny had no desire to seek marriage again, but he hoped his saying it might help Steve understand why _he’d_ said it. Danny could see Steve’s mind whirring, processing. He guessed Steve’s blurted proposal was an indication of his own need that he hadn’t been fully aware of. Was pretty sure Steve was just now realizing it. Sure enough, he bit his lip, took a thoughtful breath.

“I think it might matter, to me. I think that might be why I said it.”

Danny nodded, proud of Steve for seeing that. “Makes sense, babe.”

There was more... something Steve wanted to be sure of. “Would you really, would you be okay with it? If... if that’s what I need?”

Again. Danny needed Steve to have no room for doubt. Never any doubt. He leaned in close. Kissed him softly, lingeringly. Barely pulled back before he gave his answer, directly to Steve’s lips: “ _No question_.”

Steve looked like he wanted to keep the tears that were beading up in his eyes from falling, but he didn’t seem to be able to.

Danny took the opportunity to make sure to be clear on that other little issue. “And I would never blame you, for us being together. I mean, yeah, I’d probably joke about it. But I would _never_ really mean it....” He wished he could make sure that thought was utterly solid in Steve’s head. “And what do you mean about things going wrong, Steven, huh? We’ve had enough things go wrong to know _we survive it_. You can’t think, at this point, that there’s anything that could break us?” He allowed himself another soft grin. “Not when we’re together.”

Steve breathed out a soft chuckle that almost turned into a sob. “I am so sorry it took us so long to get here.”

He pulled Danny closer, into a hug that left Danny wanting so much more, set him cataloguing the way Steve felt against him. Too much body armor in the way, but solid, real, and warm. He felt his heart speed up just a little. He took a shaky breath to steer them back from the edge of regret once more.

“Me, too, babe. But maybe it’s what we needed. I mean, the fact that we didn’t even kiss until after you’d admitted you wanted to get married... that tells us something, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess it does.”

“Can we please go shower now, though?” Danny was starting to itch to get out of his gear. And everything else as well, if he was honest. “I’d really like to kiss you more... but I want to be clean first.”

Steve nodded in agreement, and looked into Danny’s eyes, like he was looking for something. “Do you think.... Do you think you could drive?”

Danny’s world had already gotten strange enough. What was this new bizarre thing heaped on top? Not that he was complaining. But maybe he kind of liked it when Steve drove his car. Maybe.

“Sure, babe. Of course.” He couldn’t not ask, though. “ _Why_?”

Steve seemed a little like he was embarrassed to admit it, but he swallowed and explained: “I kind of don’t trust myself right now, I think I just need to be able to sit here and look at you.”

Danny really wanted to laugh at that, because surely, surely Steve knew. “Babe, you do that half the time while you’re driving anyway, you do know that, right?”

Steve laughed. “Yeah, I guess I do, don’t I?”

“Yeah,” Danny said on a smile. “...But I kind of don’t mind.”

And really, he didn’t. Especially not now.


End file.
